Democrats hold off Republican super-majority in Senate

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ELECTION 98 MAIN

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REAL-TIME RESULTS: SENATE | HOUSE | GOVERNORS | BALLOTS

BALANCE OF POWER

	old	new	+/-
SENATE GOP: DEMS:	55 45	55 45	0 0
HOUSE GOP: DEMS: IND:	228 206 1	223 211 1	-5 +5 0
GOVERNOR GOP: DEMS: IND:	32 17 1	31 17 2	-1 0 +1

RACE RESULTS

Senate Overview

Democrats hold off Republican super-majority in Senate

D'Amato, Faircloth, Moseley-Braun are ousted

(AllPolitics, November 3) -- The Democratic Party may not have regained control of either body of Congress, but in the Senate, Democrats stood their ground despite an embattled president and tough re-election fights for several incumbents. Republicans, on the other hand, not only failed to gain the 60 seats they needed to have a filibuster-proof majority, they lost two high-profile GOP seats.

In New York, three-term Sen. Al D'Amato , a longtime opponent of President Bill Clinton, fell to veteran Democratic Rep. Charles Schumer after a long and nasty race.


In his concession speech, D'Amato of New York thanks longtime supporters

"We had the battle," D'Amato told supporters
in his concession speech. "The battle is over."

During the race, D'Amato branded Schumer a diehard liberal and Schumer accused D'Amato of being a liar. But late in the campaign, a D'Amato gaffe, coupled with Schumer's sizable war chest, may have determined the outcome.

"Campaigns more often than not must focus on things that divide us," Schumer told supporters Tuesday night. "But government and public service must focus more on the causes that unite us."

Republican Lauch Faircloth apologized to his followers for letting them down after losing to his Democratic challenger, John Edwards. "I feel that I let you down because I should have won," Faircloth said, holding back tears.

"The people of North Carolina voted their hopes instead of their fears," Edwards told his cheering supporters. "I intend to work harder than any person who has ever represented this state in the United States Senate."


Conceding defeat, Faircloth of North Carolina tells supporters, "I feel that I let you down ... because we should have won"

The other incumbent senator not joining the members of the 106th Congress refused to give up hope for an eleventh-hour win.

"Today is the 50th anniversary of the headline 'Dewey beats Truman,'" Sen Carol Moseley-Braun of Illinois told her team early Wednesday morning. "We've been hearing the equivalent of 'Dewey beats Truman' all night, and we are not prepared to concede."

Although Moseley-Braun had been in trouble for most of her re-election campaign, she put up a stronger-than-expected fight against conservative multimillionaire Peter Fitzgerald. The 38-year-old Republican state senator kept a low profile during campaign, a strategy some analysts say was designed to let Moseley-Braun beat herself.

Although the balance of power in the Senate remained unchanged, three of the five open Senate seats switched parties. In Ohio, retiring Democratic Sen. John Glenn will be succeeded by Republican George Voinovich. The retiring governor of Ohio easily beat his Democratic opponent, Mary Boyle.

Republicans also earned control of Kentucky's only Democratic Senate seat, being vacated by Wendell Ford. In a tight race in which no one wanted to concede defeat, Republican Rep. Jim Bunning slightly bested Democratic Rep. Scotty Baesler.


Moseley-Braun talks to supporters without conceding the race

In the only open Republican seat, former Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh handily beat his Republican opponent ,Paul Helmke, to gain control of retiring Sen. Dan Coats' seat. Coats had been preceded by both Dan Quayle and Bayh's father, Birch.

With the exception of Faircloth and Moseley-Braun the class of 1992 did well on Tuesday night. Sens. Paul Coverdell (R-Georgia), Judd Gregg (R- New Hampshire), Ben Nighthorse Campbell(R-Colorado), Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin), Bob Bennett (R-Utah), Barbara Boxer (D-California) and Patty Murray (D-Washington) all won re-election.

Boxer withstood surprisingly strong opposition from state Treasurer Matt Fong, pulling away in the final days by painting him as too conservative on issues close to the hearts of California: abortion, gun control and the environment.


Edwards: "It is a great, great honor for me to be able to try to stand in his (Faircloth's) shoes"

"I have something important to tell you -- we won," declared Boxer, reveling in her victory. "Thanks to all of you and to the president, and to the vice president and to the first lady. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Boxer, whose daughter is married to the first lady's brother, faced criticism early in the fall for not being quick to criticize the president's behavior in the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

If the 105th Congress accomplished little and voters went to the polls and asked for more of that same, what should we expect from the newly elected 106th Senate? With national exit polls showing a great majority of voters happy with the economy and a lame-duck president facing an impeachment inquiry, issues like campaign finance reform, tobacco legislation, tax cuts,and patient bill of rights may end up in on the floor Senate, again.